This year we will be attending New York Comic Con again. We last attended in 2022 after a long time away from the show. In 2023 we made our own NYCC outside the convention center via some exciting activation events and sponsored parties from Audible, Scholastic, Pac-Man and Squanch Games. The 2022 show caught our attention via activation announcements on the show floor for Disney Parks, the TITANS TV show, Amazon Prime and more, the same happened this year. When major experiences from HBO and Paramount were presented we leaped to grab whatever tickets were still available. We weren’t concerned about panels or guests, as for us its the amusement park like show floor that comes first, but one with things that interest us and that we have some knowledge of going in.
The Spongebob Squarepants experience as well as the DEXTER Kill Room are both high on things to see at the NYCC but equally the just announced experience for HBO’s Creature Commandos as well as the the photo-op for The Franchise. Marvel’s booth will have excellent costumes on display from Daredevil: Born Again as well which should be very cool to see in person. The Tokyo Games Show had amazing experience and photo-op for Little Nightmares III from Bandai Namco and hopefully it’ll be at least half as amazing as that, the Javits has the space.
That isn’t to say panels don’t interest. The return of Phineas and Ferb, panels on video games such as Funko Fusion and Life is Strange: Double Exposure, an appearance and panel from Alex Hirsch on The Book of Bill. That’s just a small sampling and just from Thursday and Friday.
On top of panels and activations though of course are the opportunity to meet and greet some of your favorite writers and artists. For me personally it’ll be getting to say hello to old friends like Rick Parker, Dean Haspiel and many more.
The book booths are also super important since the end of Book Expo America and Book Con as well as changes to the US Book Show, there are very few opportunities in person to learn of books in NYC direct from publishers.
The main things to remember about NYCC is there are many things to love. Many of these things will have signings and panels that overlap. You won’t be able to enjoy everything, so relax, be calm, chillax effectively. Keep your hygiene up, both your body and your attitude. There will be tons of clashing attitudes, people will block aisles to do cosplay photos, they aren’t trying to be jerks. Everyone has a different convention but the main thing you can do is enjoy what you can and not be upset by what you can’t. There is enough convention for everyone and everything. You should walk in and walk out happy to have been around films, TV, comics, video games, art and more and have something new and experiences to remember.